'Manus Island is home. Until I reached the age of twelve in 1984, Lorengau town - the urban administrative, political and commercial centre of Manus Province, Papua New Guinea - was my parents' anchor. From there they navigated our lives between Manus, Port Moresby and beyond. They managed their careers, their growing family, their social obligations and their children's education, while striving to get by as a bi-racial couple among PNG's emerging educated elite who had helped lead the nation to independence. In the late 1970s, recognising the need to have a home base in Manus, they bought a small house at the east end of Lorengau town. This is a few minutes' walk from the current site of the Australian-funded East Lorengau Refugee Transit Centre for asylum seekers and refugees.' (Publication abstract)